[Opening Hook - lone female voice] I have a mouth full of thorns. Who taught the rose to bow? [Verse 1] They wrote my worth upon a page, Then sent me over sea; A narrow berth, a borrowed name, A price where I should be. The meetinghouse has polished floors, The benches know my knees; Outside, a crooked apple tree Grows freely in the breeze. [Pre-Chorus] Stitch the collar, hide the stain, Teach the sparrow not to sing; Something beating in my ribs Will not obey the string. [Chorus] I have a mouth full of thorns, And a name you cannot own. You may bind me to your garden; You cannot choose how I am grown. I have a mouth full of thorns— Let the rose defend her own. [Verse 2] Edward keeps a gentler voice Than those who count our sins; Sometimes, when he looks at me, The room lets daylight in. But every door beyond our door Has someone keeping score; A woman asking for her share Is always asking more. [Chorus] I have a mouth full of thorns, And a name you cannot own. You may bind me to your garden; You cannot choose how I am grown. I have a mouth full of thorns— Let the rose defend her own. [Bridge - drums drop away] Mother, when you combed my hair, What was that tune you knew? I catch it in the orchard wind; It pulls my stitches through. [Final Chorus - full female harmonies] I have a mouth full of thorns, And a name you cannot own. You may bind me to your garden; You cannot choose how I am grown. I have a mouth full of thorns— Let the rose defend her own. [Outro - abrupt] Who taught the rose to bow? I will not learn it now.
